Libertarian Socialist Federation
The Libertarian Socialist Federation (LSF) is an anti-authoritarian, directly democratic, horizontalist and anti-capitalist alliance, primarily featuring Pink team members. It is the oldest surviving and 2nd strongest leftist alliance in CN, as well as the oldest surviving Pink Team alliance, having been in existence since 2006 after it split from the ICSN. The LSF has traditionally been the home of many of CyberNations' Anarchists and Libertarian Marxists, although those of other political leanings are not necessarily restricted from becoming a member as long as they are willing to work within a Libertarian Socialist framework, as the application requirements state: "Members should know that whatever their politics, they are working within a Libertarian Socialist framework, which includes a commitment to democracy and not attempt to undermine the equality in the membership, as well as an opposition to racist, sexist and homophobic remarks which are done with serious undertones rather than in a mocking (of the stupidity of discrimination on those points) manner." There are members in the Federation who hold anti-Capitalist politics, attempting to blend collective organisation with individual liberty, as such in the past tendencies have arisen, with Anarchist-Communists and other collectivists on one end, and the more individual orientated mututalists and other left libertarians comprising the anti-federalist bloc. By mid-2007, the LSF saw an upsurge of authoritarian Marxists such as Trotskyists joining the alliance, however, that proved no problem as the Libertarian Socialist ideals of the LSF were respected. During the LSF-NoV war many of the federation's members sought refuge in other alliances, mainly in the CPCN which included a number of LSF's former Anarchist members, some of whom now reside in The International. The Federation has offered protection to other alliances in the past, defending them against potential enemies providing them a safe environment to exist in as possible, the now disbanded Socialist Workers Front is an example of this. Relations with other leftist alliances have varied in the past, from the outright opposition and antagonism between the LSF and the Socialistic Empire, to excellent relations with other leftist alliances, such as The International and the former Communist Party of CyberNations. Origins & Description The LSF is an alliance founded after the collapse of the ICSN. It was founded by ex-ICSN member Haraldur on May Day 2006 and was quickly joined by one or two others originating in the ICSN-remnant. In the closing days of May of the same year, the membership of the LSF increased considerably, with several new, thought to be previously unaffiliated, players joining the organization. The LSF's structure is highly democratic and all decisions are made by delegates hailing from the various communes in the alliance, thus making it arguably the most democratic alliance in CyberNations. Some members also go by the moniker of the "Black Guards". "Black Guards" is also the name given to some of the various militias and paramilitaries of the LSF. In addition, the Federation had once been on the Black Team, the colour having represented the typical Anarchist, or Libertarian colour, black, representing the lack of authority, however, the Federation was forced to move to the Pink Team, where it now happily resides and have formed economic partnerships and friendships with other Pink Team alliances, the alliance also maintains a Senate position. The LSF was once the strongest leftist alliance in Cybernations for a time, with the alliance size hovering around 150 members in June 2007, and with an alliance strength of roughly 1.8Million at its peak. However, after being subject to a destructive war against the alliances of Norden Verein, Nueva Vida, Fellowship of Elite Allied Republics, and other members of the Hanseatic League, the alliance began to dwindle in numbers, the war ended, and although it decimated the LSF, as it was the, then, second longest war in the history of CyberNations, the alliance recuperated with the help of its friends and dedicated membership. On May 1, 2007, the LSF celebrated it's first anniversary, becoming both the oldest surviving leftist alliance on Planet Bob and the strongest, in terms of both membership and alliance strength. By May 2, 2008, the LSF, although diminished in strength and numbers was still around to be able to lay claim to being the longest surviving leftist alliance, and again in 2009, the LSF can still claim to be the oldest surviving leftist alliance. It goes the same in 2010, while LSF finally shows some signs of recovery and is in the top 100 in all rankings. "Charter", Description of how the LSF/Black Guards Work(s) The Charter of the LSF was what the alliance was based on for so long until the adoption of the Constitution. It was written by Haraldur, the founder of the alliance, and former member of the ICSN. This was the point of departure for Anarchists and other Libertarian Communists, from the programme for a united left alliance on CN and today the LSF still remains intact. Although the Constitution outlines how the alliance works, the Charter still helps to cement our democratic history and act as a founding stone to ensure the continual maintenance of LSF direct democracy and horizontalism, and in this sense, it is still important. The following was posted by Haraldur on the 1st of May 2006: :::"I thought that May Day would be the appropriate time to announce the launch of the Libertarian Socialist Federation, LSF, or the Black Guards. :::The role-playing aspect: Instead of Nations, the "nations" of CyberNations would be regarded as autonomous Communes inside the LSF, whose "leaders"(the players) would be regarded as delegates from the Communal Councils in each Commune. Their governments and religions and bureaucracy etc. (as in, the relevant stuff on the "View your Nations" page) would just be a front, an illusion for the rest of the world (like it says in my Commune's description on CN). :::Individual initiative would be encouraged within the Federation, in such a way as everyone can be an ambassador etc.. All power would be in the Delegates' Council (a directly democratic council which all LSF members have access to), and, with the exception to things such as NAPs and alliances, and ceasefires, it would only decide policy, not legislation, which is not binding. In NAPs etc. it would be binding, except for Communes using the opt-out. :::The opt-out: In order to give maximum flexibility to member Communes, if they wish to do things which might put other member Communes or the LSF as a whole in danger, they can opt-out of the parts of the alliance to do with mutual defence, mutual aid, NAPS and inter-alliance alliances. However, they still remain in the DC (Delegates' Council). The opt-out would apply to things such as attacking unaligned nations when not provoked, and the same with nations in other alliances (although it is best to be careful when doing that, for the sake of your comrades), and for spying etc.. However, even if two members have opted-out, they should not attack each other, as that weakens the alliance as a whole and so badly affects all members of the alliance. Basically, if you do something that might bring trouble for you and anyone connected to you, you can do it with the consequences affecting only yourself. Anything which is against the will of the DC can only be done by a Commune that has opted-out. :::Elected representatives and commissars: There will be none, we self-organize. :::Basically, the Black Guards are an alliance of autonomous communes based on the principle of self-organization and mutual aid, as demonstrated or almost demonstrated in the Ukraine during the Russian Revolution, in Germany during the German Revolution and in the Spanish Revolution. :::Conditions for entry: must either be Libertarian Socialist (whether that be Anarcho-Communist, Council-Communist, Mutualist or whatever) or be willing to role-play as that. Also, all applicants involved with wars or other dangerous activity must start out opted-out, unless the war is against an unaligned Nazi or Fascist nation. :::By the way, I am starting out opted-out. :::Anyone interested?" The reason for Haraldur starting out as opted-out was due to the fact that he was still involved in the on-going NPO-ICSN conflict of the time, and as such, did not want to involve the young Federation in a war it had nothing to do with. The LSF no longer has an "opt-out" policy as we consider that to be a detriment to the collective security of the alliance, as well as being unecessary as it effectively means the member has temporarily resigned from the alliance, which members can do with ease already. Constitution of the Libertarian Socialist Federation When the LSFers still had access to their old forums (before the hacking incident), an idea of adopting a constitution came about during the NoV-LSF War. In turn, a member of the LSF, Palachinov, drafted a constitution in early November which went through a lengthy period of discussion and re-drafting. However, by the time the final draft was comprised, the old forums suddenly got hacked by an unknown rogueOld Forums of the LSF, showing false claims of disbandment and character framing. As a result, the constitution went into limbo for a number of months until it was finally found and brought up unexpectedly again. It was not until 29 May 2008 that, after a voting process, the constitution was adopted and its articles activated. At the same time, positions of Co-Ordinators were also nominated and elections began for the first time for recognised positions in the alliance. This constitution however does not give the LSF a Representative government, it is still directly governed by the membership through the form of the Delegates Council. It was finally announced on June 13, 2008 by the newly elected Public Announcer of the LSF.Announcement of the LSF Constitution on the CN forums For more information, please view the Constitution of the Libertarian Socialist Federation page. Diplomatic Relations & Agreements With Other Alliances As a result of the NoV-LSF war, most of LSF's MDP partners had suspended their agreement with the LSF until further notice, or until the end of the war, however, since the end of the war, the LSF has not only regained some of its former strength, but has also formed relations with other alliances. For a list of alliances LSF shares agreements with, please visit the LSF Diplomatic Relations page. Military History The Great War Just before the update on July 17, 2006, the LSF attacked several NPO nations, and then again straight after the update. After this the LSF declared war on the NPO and their puppet alliance, the NpO. This happened at a time when many other alliances were declaring against the NPO, NpO and IGC as part of the CoaLUEtion. However, the LSF was explicit in saying that it had no intent of harming the IGC, and that it was not joining the CoaLUEtion. The decision to go to war was by a vote of the membership, viewing it as a chance to do away with the NPO as an imperialist force in the Cyberverse. The Maroon War The LSF was one of the main combatants involved in the so called "Maroon War" that came about as a result of the International Communist Party's (ICP) desired move to the Maroon team, which was opposed by Nordreich (NoR) and several other Maroon based alliances. As a result of a Mutual Defense Pact (MDP) signed between the ICP and LSF, the Black Guards became a central part of the so called “Communist Allies” war drive. Though the war was short, it proved to be costly for many within the alliance. Most nations were reduced to a state of anarchy, but in the process reduced most of their enemies to the same condition. Many felt that the only reason the NoR came out of the war slightly better off is because of the eventual entry of one of the Cyberverse’s strongest alliances, the New Polar Order (NpO) and their allies the GOONS, on the side of the said alliance, citing the fact that up until that point it was essentially a draw between the two warring blocs. Critics would also state that along side the NpO and GOONS it further took essentially the entire Maroon team (omitting the ODS) to “beat” the combined leftist alliances. It is estimated that the leftist bloc was by the end of the war outnumbered by a ratio of 2:1, and still put up a remarkably cagey fight, fighting a determined defence effort that eventually led to the NoR's suing for peace. The Great War II On 11 January 2007 (3:40 AM), the LSF declared war on "The Initiative" on the side of the "League", but not part of it. Fighting alongside nations of the League, in particular, the International Communist Party, the LSF were ultimately defeated. The Federation accepted the peace terms that were offered to the rest of the League (which the LUE declined) to eventually pull out of the conflict. St. Patrick's Day War The so called St. Patrick's Day War or Second Maroon War, started on March 17, 2007 via surprise attack by Nordreich on the LSF as part of Nordreich's "Operation Fall Rot". The aggressors were soon joined by several other alliances, while the LSF for her part was almost entirely abandoned by her allies (despite signed MDPs and MADPs) with a notable exception in the Byzantine Empire. Nordreich claimed the war was in retribution was LSF-sponsored Anti-Fascist actions which had targeted their membership, and general animosity between the two alliances, fuelled after LSF pointed out Nordreich's connection to rl nazi and racist groops. While the war resulted in a fairly clear loss for the LSF (once again being severely outnumbered) the peace terms featured concessions on the part of both alliances. Furthermore, Nordreich's stated commitment to purging racist and neo-Nazi elements from its ranks (as part of its peace terms) has resulted in several new wars for the alliance and, arguably, continues to play a central role in the on-going controversy within the leadership of the organization. The members of the LSF, for their part, entirely recovered from the war and both membership numbers and alliance strength were larger than they were before the war up until the creation of the CPCN. LSF-NoV War This war was started in early October 2007. There had always been high amounts of tensions between the LSF and Norden Verein, or NoV, Nordreich's successor. When a nuclear rogue from the LSF, Redterror, attacked Kaiser Martens of NoV, the LSF immediately responded by banning Redterror and ZI-ing his nation. Around this time, a LSF member (suspicion that the member was actually a NoV spy arose, but was never proven) posted screenshots of the LSF forums on the CN forums, hoping to show that the LSF supported Redterror's actions. The LSF responded by claiming that the so called support on the forums were a part of the relaxed, "joking" attitude prevailant in the alliance, and the accusations of spying against the NoV was false as spy operations were committed by an independent member on Nordreich, a seperate alliance to NoV altogether. However, this was not enough for the NoV, which, along with FEAR and Nueva Vida, as well as members of the Hanseatic League, declared war against the LSF. The LSF was severely outnumbered and had no allies, but refused to disband nevertheless and kept fighting until Nordreich was disbanded. On May 1, 2008, to mark the second anniversary of the LSF, the LSF announced their intention on continuing to stay in the Cyberverse and not be disbandedMay Day 2008 Announcement by the LSF in defiance of NoV. A large amount of her membership is scattered among the cyberverse in many different alliances, and still have a certain degree of loyalty to the LSF and have, and continue to, express support for the alliance. NoV aim was to disband the LSF, they ultimately failed, they disbanded first and LSF claimed a Pyrrhic victory. The Liberation AccordsThe Liberation Accords announcement on the CN boards marked the culmination of the NoV-LSF War. LSF Defence of The International In the last half hour of 24 April 2009, the LSF declared war on NATO"The Black Guards Go To War!" (LSF Declaration of War on NATO) in defence of their ally and MDP partner, The International. It was unfortunate for the LSF to declare war on NATO as it had shared good relations with the LSF in the past. However, both alliances fought with regret. The war was interlinked in the Greater Karma War, The International had attacked NPO alongside other Karma forces, NATO being tied to NPO led them to attack The International. While it wasn't expressed publicly, there was a general feeling that the LSF was not part of Karma but was merely coming to the defence of their ally. During the war, the LSF increased in strength from 661,439 strength, up to 746,766 strength. Although NATO was a larger force, it was swamped in war against The International and her other allies, The German Empire and FOK. This meant their forces were too spread apart and it allowed the LSF militias to fight effectively, and at times, without any opposition whatsoever. On 30 April 2009, an announcement of white peace with NATO between all forces in combat with NATO.White Peace with NATO Ties between NATO and the LSF strengthened after the war, and a subsequent Mutual Defence Pact was signed between the two alliances. Signature Images These are images LSF members wear in their signatures, if they are part of the Alliance or part of any past conflict(s). This user bar is for official use for any current LSF member: This banner is awarded to members who have fought under the LSF War Flag during any expeditionary, or defensive campaign. This particular banner was awarded for participation in the LSF-NPO War of 17 July 2006 - 29 July 2006: This banner was awarded for participation in the LSF-NoR War, also known as the Second Maroon War of 17 March 2007 - 20 March 2007: This banner war awarded for participation in the ClusterF*!K war, February 2010 This user bar is for official use for any Veteran of the Second Maroon War who fought with the LSF: This user bar is for official use for any Veteran who was still a member of the LSF, by the time when the LSF considered it to be the end of the NoV-LSF War. It does not include any former members who may have fought in the alliance against the enemy but had surrendered before peace, except for NDVNDV and Rigas who were forced to leave as part of the peace terms given to the LSF from NV. Members of the Commune programme in the LSF are able to wear the following user bar. References Official Libertarian Socialist Federation Forum ---- ---- Category:Pink team alliances Category:Libertarian Socialist Federation Category:Alliances Category:Leftism